Urth to OC

An Urth Caffe is planned to open in Laguna this May.

Urthy+meal+-+An+omelet+coupled+with+a+cup+of+coffee+perfects+the+morning.

Adam Campbell

Urthy meal – An omelet coupled with a cup of coffee perfects the morning.

No matter how good the coffee and omelets are, it’s debatable whether the two hours spent on the road is worth a meal at Urth Caffe. But those lengthy drives with an empty stomach will soon come to an end, for Urth is coming to OC.

The new Urth will be located across the street from the famous Las Brisas Mexican restaurant, on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Aster Street, just seconds away from downtown Laguna Beach.

Established in 1989 by Shallom and Jilla Berkman, Urth Caffe is America’s first exclusively organic coffee company.

“I think that what makes dining at Urth a unique experience is that we are the only coffee roaster in the U.S. that roasts heirloom coffee,” Shallom said. “Heirloom coffee is grown 100 percent without chemicals and [is] all organic. All of our ingredients are natural and most of them are grown locally. We also serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is uncommon for most restaurants, and all of our recipes are made from scratch.”

Made popular by public figure heads such as the Kardashians, Urth Caffe has gone viral, constantly showing up on social media like Tumblr and Instagram. There are currently five locations — all in the Los Angeles area — but another one is planned to open sometime in late April or early May of 2015.

“We had to push back the date because we decided to completely renovate the building,” Shallom said. “We’re restoring it to look exactly like it did 80 years ago. We want to restore all of the original features and give it that same ‘cottage feel’ everyone knows and loves.”

The Berkmans have chosen the former “Cottage” restaurant as the new location for their café chain. After its closing in November of 2011, the Cottage has been an empty space, rotting away and waiting to be purchased. In 2012, the Berkmans bought the space and planned on renovating it to its past glory.

“We will also have a special chef there to prepare this full traditional American breakfast, just like the Cottage used to do,” Shallom said. “We definitely plan on bringing the existing qualities of Urth to our new Laguna location, but we plan on adding this [new] American breakfast made with all organic ingredients.”

If you ever find yourself in Laguna this summer to catch the sunrise or to sunbathe at the beach, make sure you head down to Urth.